| Carpal Tunnel Syndrome |
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome is a condition where a key
nerve – called the Median Nerve – gets compressed
in the wrist, resulting in pain and/or limited range of
motion in the joint.
Notice I said that it is a condition? I've heard it
called and you may have been told that it’s a
disease; but it isn't. It’s a condition that is caused
by postural misalignment.
It is not a disease! It is a condition.
If you are suffering with this condition, you may
have been advised to do one or more of the
following:
Where does anybody mention your posture?!!
They don't.
If this condition, and any other condition, is going to
be properly tackled, we have to go to the root
cause and stop chasing the symptoms.
Taking painkillers simply puts a gag over your body's
voice. It's trying to give you a message that
something is wrong, and all painkillers do is silence
the voice.
Surgery is another tactic for silencing the body's
voice. It may remove the pain for now, but has it
addressed the underlying root cause for why the
pain was there in the first place? No, it hasn't.
Maybe the carpal tunnel syndrome won't return, but
how about tennis elbow, back pain, knee pain… or
any other type of pain?
An Extract To Illustrate The
Point
The following extract is taken from one of Pete
Egoscue's books, Pain Free. It's from the chapter on
Elbows, Wrists and Hands and illustrates my previous
point beautifully.
If you have pain in your wrist in addition to pain in
other areas of your body, you'll probably find it a
particularly interesting read.
nerve – called the Median Nerve – gets compressed
in the wrist, resulting in pain and/or limited range of
motion in the joint.
Notice I said that it is a condition? I've heard it
called and you may have been told that it’s a
disease; but it isn't. It’s a condition that is caused
by postural misalignment.
It is not a disease! It is a condition.
If you are suffering with this condition, you may
have been advised to do one or more of the
following:
- Rest the affected hand and wrist for at least 2
weeks and avoid activities that may worsen
the symptoms
- Immobilise the wrist in a splint to avoid further
damage from twisting or bending
- Take Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and other non-
prescription pain relievers, which may or may
not ease the pain
- Use an ice pack
- Perform stretching and strengthening exercises
- Have surgery, which usually involves severing
the band of tissue around the wrist to reduce
pressure on the median nerve
Where does anybody mention your posture?!!
They don't.
If this condition, and any other condition, is going to
be properly tackled, we have to go to the root
cause and stop chasing the symptoms.
Taking painkillers simply puts a gag over your body's
voice. It's trying to give you a message that
something is wrong, and all painkillers do is silence
the voice.
Surgery is another tactic for silencing the body's
voice. It may remove the pain for now, but has it
addressed the underlying root cause for why the
pain was there in the first place? No, it hasn't.
Maybe the carpal tunnel syndrome won't return, but
how about tennis elbow, back pain, knee pain… or
any other type of pain?
An Extract To Illustrate The
Point
The following extract is taken from one of Pete
Egoscue's books, Pain Free. It's from the chapter on
Elbows, Wrists and Hands and illustrates my previous
point beautifully.
If you have pain in your wrist in addition to pain in
other areas of your body, you'll probably find it a
particularly interesting read.
| The Difference Between The Source And The Site Of Pain |
"
Cassie was paying close attention to her right wrist.
She came to the clinic a few years ago because her
wrist was in such a bad way. Stiff and painful, it had
forced her to take an extended medical leave from
her job as a social worker.
Cassie was a full hour into her first visit before she
casually mentioned that her low back was also in
extreme pain. Her priority was the wrist, however;
everything else, she said, was of secondary
importance. Like shoulder pain, pain in the elbow,
wrist, or hands can be particularly disturbing. Beyond
the discomfort, it also raises the prospects of job
loss, a drastic change in lifestyle, and helplessness.
She wanted to go back to work as soon as possible.
As far as she was concerned, back pain wasn't going
to interfere with that goal. She could either put up
with it or do something about it later.
What Cassie didn't realise at first was that her wrist
and low back pain were two different symptoms of
the same problem: She had lost her vertical load-
bearing capacity. Typically, she made the
assumption that the site of the pain was also the
source of the pain; I gave her a quick demonstration
to convince her otherwise.
"Stand here with your toes pointed in," I requested.
She moved her feet a little. "Come on, more than
that. Really torque those knees and point them in."
Her shoulders slumped, and she leaned forward at
the waist. "The feet are perfect, but get the head
and shoulders back – that's it."
"I feel like I'm going to topple to the right," she said.
"Don't worry, you won't. But the reason you feel that
way is because most of your weight is being carried
on the left side of your body, and this stance is
redistributing it bilaterally. The right side isn't used
to doing its fair share of the work." She nodded
tentatively, still getting accustomed to the awkward
position.
"How's your back feel?" I asked.
"Okay, I guess."
"Does it hurt?"
"Not right now."
"Does it usually hurt when you're standing?" Cassie
hesitated a moment. "Constantly."
"But it's not now?"
"No!"
I gave her time to think about it. "How's the wrist?"
She raised her arm and took a look. The hand was
held flat, palm down and fingers straight.
"The same," she said.
"Try bending it." Cassie slowly clenched her fingers
into a fist and opened them. Then she let her open
hand droop down at the wrist and slowly – very
slowly – flexed it upward. The hand stayed palm-out
for about thirty seconds, then she quickly waggled it
up and down, side to side, without saying a word.
"Well?" I asked finally.
"Wow!"
Cassie's problem wasn't in her wrist, elbow, or
shoulder. Wrist braces and ergonomic keyboards
weren't going to be of any help to her. Cassie's hip
was causing her wrist pain. When I put her in the
awkward stance, her statement that she felt like she
was about to topple over to the right was an
important piece of information. Lack of balance is
always a message.
In this instance it told me that her right hip was
unstable; the turned-out right foot confirmed it and
established that the hip was tipped to the rear into
flexion. To adjust the center of gravity and to walk
in a straight line, Cassie unconsciously rotated her
right shoulder forward and in. Without the
underpinning from the load-bearing joints below, her
shoulder sagged and compromised the ball-and-
socket function.
The biomechanics are straightforward; the shoulder
is designed to both hinge and rotate. When its
rotational capability is restricted, the elbow is
recruited to handle the assignment.
To get an idea of what's going on, extend your right
arm in front of you, shoulder height, with the palm
down. While keeping the arm straight, rotate it so
that the palm is up. If you haven't lost shoulder
function totally, the whole arm will move, and there
will be detectable motion and muscular activity in
the shoulder area as it participates in the rotation…
…With your other hand, gently squeeze up and down
the length of the right arm, from the wrist to the
shoulder, while doing this rotation. You'll feel many of
the musculoskeletal mechanisms at work. Notice that
the elbow itself rolls under in a semicircle. Now bend
the elbow to ninety degrees, tuck it into your side,
and rotate the palm down and back up the same
way.
The shoulder is out of it, as are most of the muscles
of the upper arm. The stationary elbow is working
overtime by cranking hard on the ulna and the
radius, the two bones of the forearm that are
designed to go from lying parallel to each other to
crossing one atop the other.
Most chronic wrist pain is easily treated by returning
the shoulder to alignment with the hip, knee, and
ankle. Unless there is a bone fracture or traumatic
joint dislocation, there is rarely structural damage.
She came to the clinic a few years ago because her
wrist was in such a bad way. Stiff and painful, it had
forced her to take an extended medical leave from
her job as a social worker.
Cassie was a full hour into her first visit before she
casually mentioned that her low back was also in
extreme pain. Her priority was the wrist, however;
everything else, she said, was of secondary
importance. Like shoulder pain, pain in the elbow,
wrist, or hands can be particularly disturbing. Beyond
the discomfort, it also raises the prospects of job
loss, a drastic change in lifestyle, and helplessness.
She wanted to go back to work as soon as possible.
As far as she was concerned, back pain wasn't going
to interfere with that goal. She could either put up
with it or do something about it later.
What Cassie didn't realise at first was that her wrist
and low back pain were two different symptoms of
the same problem: She had lost her vertical load-
bearing capacity. Typically, she made the
assumption that the site of the pain was also the
source of the pain; I gave her a quick demonstration
to convince her otherwise.
"Stand here with your toes pointed in," I requested.
She moved her feet a little. "Come on, more than
that. Really torque those knees and point them in."
Her shoulders slumped, and she leaned forward at
the waist. "The feet are perfect, but get the head
and shoulders back – that's it."
"I feel like I'm going to topple to the right," she said.
"Don't worry, you won't. But the reason you feel that
way is because most of your weight is being carried
on the left side of your body, and this stance is
redistributing it bilaterally. The right side isn't used
to doing its fair share of the work." She nodded
tentatively, still getting accustomed to the awkward
position.
"How's your back feel?" I asked.
"Okay, I guess."
"Does it hurt?"
"Not right now."
"Does it usually hurt when you're standing?" Cassie
hesitated a moment. "Constantly."
"But it's not now?"
"No!"
I gave her time to think about it. "How's the wrist?"
She raised her arm and took a look. The hand was
held flat, palm down and fingers straight.
"The same," she said.
"Try bending it." Cassie slowly clenched her fingers
into a fist and opened them. Then she let her open
hand droop down at the wrist and slowly – very
slowly – flexed it upward. The hand stayed palm-out
for about thirty seconds, then she quickly waggled it
up and down, side to side, without saying a word.
"Well?" I asked finally.
"Wow!"
Cassie's problem wasn't in her wrist, elbow, or
shoulder. Wrist braces and ergonomic keyboards
weren't going to be of any help to her. Cassie's hip
was causing her wrist pain. When I put her in the
awkward stance, her statement that she felt like she
was about to topple over to the right was an
important piece of information. Lack of balance is
always a message.
In this instance it told me that her right hip was
unstable; the turned-out right foot confirmed it and
established that the hip was tipped to the rear into
flexion. To adjust the center of gravity and to walk
in a straight line, Cassie unconsciously rotated her
right shoulder forward and in. Without the
underpinning from the load-bearing joints below, her
shoulder sagged and compromised the ball-and-
socket function.
The biomechanics are straightforward; the shoulder
is designed to both hinge and rotate. When its
rotational capability is restricted, the elbow is
recruited to handle the assignment.
To get an idea of what's going on, extend your right
arm in front of you, shoulder height, with the palm
down. While keeping the arm straight, rotate it so
that the palm is up. If you haven't lost shoulder
function totally, the whole arm will move, and there
will be detectable motion and muscular activity in
the shoulder area as it participates in the rotation…
…With your other hand, gently squeeze up and down
the length of the right arm, from the wrist to the
shoulder, while doing this rotation. You'll feel many of
the musculoskeletal mechanisms at work. Notice that
the elbow itself rolls under in a semicircle. Now bend
the elbow to ninety degrees, tuck it into your side,
and rotate the palm down and back up the same
way.
The shoulder is out of it, as are most of the muscles
of the upper arm. The stationary elbow is working
overtime by cranking hard on the ulna and the
radius, the two bones of the forearm that are
designed to go from lying parallel to each other to
crossing one atop the other.
Most chronic wrist pain is easily treated by returning
the shoulder to alignment with the hip, knee, and
ankle. Unless there is a bone fracture or traumatic
joint dislocation, there is rarely structural damage.
Ready To Try Some Exercises
To Reduce Your Wrist Pain?
If you have pain in your elbow, wrist or hand and
you haven't done so already, try these
exercises, which will alleviate your pain... Let me
know what you think and how you got on!
To Reduce Your Wrist Pain?
If you have pain in your elbow, wrist or hand and
you haven't done so already, try these
exercises, which will alleviate your pain... Let me
know what you think and how you got on!
"
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